Targeting lncRNA DSCAM-AS1 for disease diagnosis and therapy

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as critical regulators of gene expression and play essential roles in a wide range of biological processes and human diseases, particularly cancer. DSCAM antisense RNA 1 (DSCAM-AS1) is a recently identified lncRNA transcribed from the antisense strand of the human DSCAM (Down Syndrome Cell Adhesion Molecule) locus. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that DSCAM-AS1 is aberrantly overexpressed in multiple cancer types and is closely associated with tumor proliferation, invasion, and metastasis, etc. Mechanistically, DSCAM-AS1 exerts oncogenic functions through diverse regulatory modes, including transcriptional positive feedback loops, competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) activity that sequesters tumor-suppressive microRNAs, modulation of alternative splicing and 3' end usage via interaction with hnRNPL, and epigenetic regulation of cancer-related gene expression. Moreover, the cancer- and isoform-specific expression pattern of DSCAM-AS1 highlights its potential utility as a diagnostic biomarker and a therapeutic target. In this review, we summarize the discovery, molecular characteristics, disease associations, and regulatory mechanisms of DSCAM-AS1, and discuss its emerging clinical relevance in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and targeted therapy.